Seongbuk District hosts Latin American Festival

Published Sep 21, 2026 11:29 am KST

People participate in the 13th Latin American Festival at the Baram Madang plaza area of Seongbuk District Office in northeastern Seoul, Saturday. Courtesy of Bereket Alemayehu

The 13th Latin American Festival was held with the participation of 15 Central and South American countries' embassies on Saturday at the Baram Madang plaza area of Seongbuk District Office in northeastern Seoul.

Launched in 2011 and marking its 13th edition this year, the festival was organized by Seongbuk District Office. About 22 booths offered sales and hands-on experiences, inviting visitors to enjoy Latin American foods such as arepas, empanadas, tacos and pupusas — as well as traditional hats, musical instruments, accessories and local specialties.

A variety of cultural performances, including traditional Mexican Jalisco dance, Argentine tango, Ecuadorian traditional and popular music, Salvadoran traditional dance, Peruvian Latin music and Colombian traditional dance also provided entertainment during the festival.

Angie Shakira Martinez Tejera, ambassador of the Dominican Republic to Korea, said the event offered an opportunity to introduce different sides of her country. The embassy brought her country's music, dance, food, crafts and baseball culture to Seoul as part of the festival.

“We are promoting the land of merengue and bachata,” she said, referring to two of the Dominican Republic’s best-known musical traditions.

“We are also the land of the best baseball players in the world,” she added, mentioning the Dominican-born baseball players in the Korea Baseball Organization.

For the ambassador, baseball offers a particularly meaningful connection between her country and Korea, where the sport also has a strong following.

“We think that baseball is one of the best ways to connect Korea and the Dominican Republic,” she told The Korea Times.

Angie Shakira Martinez Tejera, ambassador of the Dominican Republic to Korea, participates in the 13th Latin American Festival at the Baram Madang plaza area of Seongbuk District Office in northeastern Seoul, Saturday. Courtesy of Bereket Alemayehu

She also explained that many Dominican students study at different universities in Korea. Some are exchange students, while others are pursuing master's and doctoral degrees, including through Korean government and university scholarship programs. Some students helped decorate the stand and performed for the festival, turning the event into a community effort.

She also expressed her appreciation to the Seoul Metropolitan Government and Seongbuk District head Lee Seung-ro for continuing to invite the Dominican Republic and other Latin American countries to participate in the annual festival.

For Mathias Francke, ambassador of Chile to Korea, the annual festival was an opportunity to celebrate Latin American culture, as well as to introduce the diversity of individual countries across the region. “It’s a great event. Every year, more and more people are participating,” Francke said during the festival.

His country’s participation this year was organized by the Association of Chilean Students in Korea. The ambassador said the festival was particularly valuable because Latin America is often perceived as a culturally uniform region, despite significant differences among its countries.

“It’s a very diverse region. Although people think that we are very similar because we all speak Spanish, our culture is very different,” he said. “Our diversity gives us a uniqueness among other countries.”

He pointed to differences in food, music and other cultural expressions.

“Even dishes that may appear similar across countries can have distinct identities and traditions,” he said.

Mathias Francke, ambassador of Chile to Korea, participates in the 13th Latin American Festival at the Baram Madang plaza area of Seongbuk District Office in northeastern Seoul, Saturday. Courtesy of Bereket Alemayehu

The ambassador noted that the two countries have maintained diplomatic relations for more than six decades, and their economic ties are strengthened by the Korea-Chile Free Trade Agreement (FTA) signed in 2003, which historically marked Korea’s first FTA with another country.

“Our relationship is very much based on trade and culture. Culture exchange is very important,” he said. Chile’s mineral resources are particularly significant to its economic relationship with Korea. Chile is a major global producer of copper and lithium, with these resources forming an important part of its exports to Korea."

People watch a performance at the 13th Latin American Festival at the Baram Madang plaza area of Seongbuk District Office in northeastern Seoul, Saturday. Courtesy of Bereket Alemayehu

Ixi Pardo Mora, a Nicaraguan national married to a Korean, came up from Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, to volunteer at the festival. She added that her connection to Latin America is broader than Nicaragua, as her mother is from Costa Rica and she also has Colombian family roots.

It was her first time attending the festival, and her fluency in Spanish, English, Korean and French helped her communicate with visitors from diverse backgrounds. Assigned to the Bolivia booth, she helped visitors use QR codes and manage the lines. After five years in Korea, the festival allowed her to reconnect with her Latin American roots, speaking Spanish freely while enjoying the music, food and vibrant atmosphere of the region.

“I enjoyed the opportunity to interact with visitors in several languages, which created an unusually multilingual environment. I miss being able to express myself easily in my own language, so this festival provided that,” she said.

The festival also gave her a chance to see Koreans' interest in Latin American culture firsthand. “The music and the feel, it’s very Latin. But I’m also surprised to see so many Korean people interested in Latin American culture,” she said.

When asked what seemed to attract Korean visitors most, she said they want to try various foods from diverse Latin countries. “Definitely the food. That’s what I miss the most about my country.”

Kim Hyo-jin, one of the Korean event coordinators, told The Korea Times that the annual festival was aimed to operate as a zero-waste event, reflecting the district office's commitment to environmental sustainability. Around 500 staff members and volunteers were mobilized for the event. Visitors were encouraged to bring their own cups or food containers and received a 500 won discount for each menu item. Participating booths also voluntarily donated a portion of their sales to support low-income multicultural families in Seongbuk District.

发布于2026年9月21日上午11:29（韩国标准时间）

周六，人们在首尔东北部城北区政府巴拉姆马当广场参加第十三届拉丁美洲节。图片由Bereket Alemayehu提供。

第十三届拉丁美洲节于周六在首尔东北部城北区政府巴南马当广场举行，共有 15 个中南美洲国家的大使馆参加。

该节日始于2011年，今年是第十三届，由城北区政府主办。约22个摊位提供商品销售和体验活动，邀请游客品尝拉丁美洲美食，如玉米饼、馅饼、墨西哥卷饼和普普萨饼，以及传统帽子、乐器、饰品和当地特产。

节日期间还安排了各种文化表演，包括墨西哥哈利斯科州传统舞蹈、阿根廷探戈、厄瓜多尔传统和流行音乐、萨尔瓦多传统舞蹈、秘鲁拉丁音乐和哥伦比亚传统舞蹈，为人们带来娱乐。

多米尼加共和国驻韩国大使安吉·沙基拉·马丁内斯·特赫拉表示，此次活动提供了一个展示多米尼加共和国不同面貌的机会。作为此次节日活动的一部分，多米尼加大使馆将该国的音乐、舞蹈、美食、手工艺品和棒球文化带到了首尔。

“我们正在推广梅伦格舞和巴恰塔舞的故乡，”她说道，指的是多米尼加共和国两种最著名的音乐传统。

“我们这里也是世界上最好的棒球运动员的故乡，”她补充道，并提到了韩国棒球组织中的多米尼加裔棒球运动员。

对于这位大使来说，棒球是她所在国家与韩国之间特别有意义的联系，因为这项运动在韩国也拥有众多拥趸。

“我们认为棒球是连接韩国和多米尼加共和国的最佳方式之一，”她告诉《韩国时报》。

多米尼加共和国驻韩国大使安吉·沙基拉·马丁内斯·特赫拉（Angie Shakira Martinez Tejera）于周六在首尔东北部城北区政府巴拉姆马当广场参加第十三届拉丁美洲节。图片由贝雷克特·阿莱马耶胡（Bereket Alemayehu）提供。

她还解释说，许多多米尼加学生在韩国各大学就读。有些是交换生，有些则攻读硕士或博士学位，其中一些是通过韩国政府和大学奖学金项目获得的。一些学生帮忙装饰展位，并在节日期间进行表演，使此次活动成为一项社区活动。

她还对首尔市政府和城北区区长李承路表示感谢，感谢他们继续邀请多米尼加共和国和其他拉丁美洲国家参加一年一度的节日。

对于智利驻韩国大使马蒂亚斯·弗兰克而言，一年一度的拉丁美洲文化节是一个庆祝拉丁美洲文化、展现该地区各国多元文化的良机。“这是一个非常棒的盛会。每年都有越来越多的人参与其中。”弗兰克在文化节期间说道。

今年智利的参展是由韩国智利学生协会组织的。大使表示，此次文化节意义非凡，因为尽管拉丁美洲各国之间存在显著差异，但人们往往将其视为一个文化同质化的地区。

“这是一个非常多元化的地区。虽然人们认为我们很相似，因为我们都说西班牙语，但我们的文化却截然不同，”他说。“我们的多元化使我们在其他国家中独树一帜。”

他指出了食物、音乐和其他文化表现形式方面的差异。

他说：“即使在不同国家看起来相似的菜肴，也可能具有独特的特色和传统。”

智利驻韩国大使马蒂亚斯·弗兰克（Mathias Francke）于周六在首尔东北部城北区政府巴拉姆马当广场参加第十三届拉丁美洲节。图片由贝雷克特·阿莱马耶胡（Bereket Alemayehu）提供。

大使指出，两国保持外交关系已超过六十年，2003年签署的《韩智自由贸易协定》（FTA）加强了两国的经济联系，该协定具有历史意义，标志着韩国首次与其他国家签署自由贸易协定。

“我们的关系很大程度上建立在贸易和文化之上。文化交流非常重要，”他说道。智利的矿产资源对其与韩国的经济关系尤为重要。智利是全球主要的铜和锂生产国，这些资源是其对韩国出口的重要组成部分。

周六，人们在首尔东北部城北区政府巴拉姆马当广场观看第十三届拉丁美洲节的演出。图片由Bereket Alemayehu提供

嫁给韩国人的尼加拉瓜公民伊克西·帕尔多·莫拉（Ixi Pardo Mora）从忠清南道天安市前来参加此次音乐节的志愿服务。她补充说，她与拉丁美洲的联系远不止尼加拉瓜，她的母亲来自哥斯达黎加，她本人也有哥伦比亚血统。

这是她第一次参加这个节日，她流利的西班牙语、英语、韩语和法语帮助她与来自不同背景的游客交流。她被安排在玻利维亚展位，帮助游客使用二维码并维持秩序。在韩国生活五年后，这个节日让她重新与自己的拉丁美洲血统建立联系，她可以自由地用西班牙语交流，同时享受当地的音乐、美食和充满活力的氛围。

“我很享受与使用多种语言的游客交流的机会，这营造了一种非常独特的多语言环境。我很怀念能够用自己的语言轻松表达自己，而这个节日正好满足了我的这个愿望，”她说。

这次文化节也让她有机会亲身感受到韩国人对拉丁美洲文化的兴趣。“音乐和氛围都很有拉丁风情。但让我感到惊讶的是，竟然有这么多韩国人对拉丁美洲文化感兴趣。”她说。

当被问及韩国游客最喜欢什么时，她说他们想品尝来自拉丁美洲各国的各种美食。“绝对是美食。那是我最想念祖国的地方。”

韩国活动协调员之一金孝珍（音译）告诉《韩国时报》，此次年度节庆活动旨在打造零浪费体验，体现了区政府对环境可持续发展的承诺。活动动员了约500名工作人员和志愿者。主办方鼓励游客自带杯子或餐盒，每份餐点可享受500韩元的折扣。参与活动的摊位还自愿捐出部分销售额，用于帮助城北区的低收入多元文化家庭。